Morning Notes: Shea, Kuemper, Malenstyn
The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a better season than most expected of them in 2025-26, and it’s been elevated contributions from players throughout the lineup that have powered them to this point. (Alongside to-be-expected star-level performances from players such as Sidney Crosby.) One player who has meaningfully improved his NHL stock as a Penguin is defenseman Ryan Shea. The Athletic’s Josh Yohe wrote yesterday that “the Penguins would like to keep [Shea] around,” and that he is a real candidate to receive a contract extension that keeps him from hitting the open market as a UFA this upcoming summer.
Shea is a textbook illustration of one of Penguins GM Kyle Dubas’ standout traits — his ability to work the margins of NHL rosters to uncover quality players, players he can acquire for very little and hand over to his coaching staff, who promptly turn them into legitimate NHLers. Dubas signed Shea to a one-year, league-minimum deal in 2023, handing the player a one-way contract despite him having zero NHL experience to that point. Shea rewarded Dubas with 31 NHL games played in his first year in Pittsburgh, and this season he’s emerged as a full-time NHLer. He’s scored 16 points in 48 games and is averaging 18:57 time on ice per game, including 2:07 on the penalty kill. Given how he’s earned head coach Dan Muse’s trust as a defensive defenseman, it’s no surprise Pittsburgh appears to want to keep him from hitting the open market as a UFA.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Los Angeles Kings starting netminder Darcy Kuemper left the team’s victory over the New York Rangers last night early after appearing shaken up by a collision with Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski. The Kings announced his exit was due to an upper-body injury. It’s worth noting that Kuemper missed some time earlier this month with an upper-body injury. Kuemper has been solid for Los Angeles this season, though not quite as brilliant as 2024-25. He has a .904 save percentage in 32 games played.
- Buffalo Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn left the team’s victory over the Nashville Predators early after blocking a shot, and while the team did not announce any injury to the player, his status is nonetheless worth monitoring. The 27-year-old is a key bottom-six player for head coach Lindy Ruff, offering aggressive forechecking and physicality on a nightly basis. He has seven points in 48 games this season playing fourth-line minutes, with a regular role in the team’s rotation of penalty killers.
Kings Activate Darcy Kuemper, Reassign Pheonix Copley
The Los Angeles Kings will have a major piece back in the lineup when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. 2025 Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper has been activated off of injured reserve after missing the last six games and 15 days with an upper-body injury. He returned to practice on Saturday. To make room for Kuemper’s return, the Kings have reassigned depth goaltender Pheonix Copley.
Kuemper could be eased back into Los Angeles’ lineup over their upcoming four-game home stretch. He has continued to be an elite option in net for the Kings, posting 10 wins and a .917 save percentage in the 23 games he has played in this season. That’s narrowly in-line with the .921 save percentage that Kuemper recorded in 50 games last season, while again battling routine injury. He earned a third-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting – and a top-20 finish in Hart Trophy voting – with that performance.
Overall, Kuemper has averaged a .920 save percentage over the last two seasons, tying him with Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the highest in the NHL. He also has seven shutouts in that span, tied for second in the league behind Hellebuyck, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson who all have eight.
The Kings have struggled significantly in Kuemper’s absence. They posted a 2-4-0 record and 16-to-20 goal differential since his injury, while leaning on Anton Forsberg as their starter. Forsberg has totaled a 6-6-3 record and .901 save percentage in his first season with the Kings. He held the lion’s share of minutes while Kuemper was out, though Copley did appear in one game. Los Angeles lost that game while Copley recorded a .893 Sv%. That is narrowly above the .885 Sv% he has recorded in 13 AHL games this season. With this move, Copley will have a chance to boost up those minor-league numbers, while Los Angeles get a much-needed upgrade in net.
Pacific Notes: Kraken, Carlsson, Kuemper, Chytil, Coghlan
The Seattle Kraken, who have been bitten by the injury bug as of late, may be returning a few high-end players soon. Earlier today, team producer Scott Malone reported that forward Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn had returned to practice in regular jerseys.
There’s no indication either will return to the Kraken’s game tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, though it is encouraging. McCann has been limited to 11 games with Seattle this season, scoring five goals and three points, with his last contest coming on December 10th.
Still, Dunn only missed the Kraken’s game on Tuesday due to an upper-body injury, and he’s not on the team’s injured reserve, unlike McCann. If there’s any silver lining to what’s shaping up to be another disappointing season for the Kraken, is that Dunn has been healthy for much of the season. Over the last two years, he had played in less than 75% of Seattle’s games due to injury. He has scored five goals and 19 points in 34 games this season.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- In a positive update for the Anaheim Ducks, center Leo Carlsson‘s lower-body injury from earlier in the week will only cost him one game. In an article this morning, Derek Lee of The Hockey News confirmed that Carlsson would return to the lineup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Aside from an external addition, there truly couldn’t be better news for the Ducks, who are tied for the lead in the Pacific Division after several difficult seasons. Carlsson is leading that effort, scoring 17 goals and 41 points in 34 games as Anaheim’s leading scorer.
- On the flip side of tonight’s matchup, netminder Darcy Kuemper will miss a fifth consecutive game for the Kings due to an upper-body injury. Fortunately, that absence shouldn’t last too much longer. Team reporter Zach Dooley shared earlier that Kuemper had returned to practice for the Kings, joining the team for their morning skate.
- Moving to the Western portion of Canada, host of Rink Wide: Vancouver, Jeff Paterson, reported earlier that Filip Chytil had returned to practice for the Vancouver Canucks in a non-contact jersey. Chytil has not played since mid-October due to what is believed to be another concussion in his nine-year career. Unfortunately, despite the positive update that Chytil has returned to the ice, there’s no timeline for his return.
- On the transaction side, the Vegas Golden Knights quietly reassigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. The Golden Knights exit the holiday break on a three-game homestand, so they likely have little need for a depth defenseman, unlike they would on a road trip. Coghlan didn’t feature in any games throughout the duration of his recall.
Pacific Notes: Kuemper, Pettersson, Ohgren
Earlier today Zach Dooley, Manager of Editorial Content for the Kings, shared that Darcy Kuemper returned to practice and faced shots, working 1-on-1 with the team’s goaltender coach.
Los Angeles’ #1 netminder landed on injured reserve six days ago, after exiting mid-game with an apparent head injury, as Stars forward Mikko Rantanen fought to create a screen, and they collided. In the meantime, veteran Anton Forsberg has held things down, including a great performance in a win over Tampa Bay, and one loss to Florida. Phoenix Copley, once a Kings full-timer, was called up from the AHL but has yet to see action. Forsberg, 33, is a serviceable backup who had success at times over the past few seasons in Ottawa, but is still working to reach expectations from his two year deal worth $2.25MM inked over the summer with the silver and black.
Kuemper, now 35, has been a tremendous fit with the Kings. Originally a sixth-round pick, and eventually a Stanley Cup Champion, the Saskatoon native has been a model of determination throughout many highs and lows in his career. He has a .917 save percentage on the season, ranking among the league’s best. Thankfully, it appears Kuemper is gearing up for a return soon.
Elsewhere across the division:
- Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote told reporters, including Thomas Drance of The Athletic, that Elias Pettersson (center) had a setback from his upper-body injury and his return will be delayed past Christmas, if not slightly longer. The Swede has been out since early December, now eight games. During that timeline major changes have come to the organization, and with 22 points in 28 games, the club will be eager to welcome back their star and try to continue stringing together wins in their new era of sorts.
- Also in Canucks news, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance published an article on the team’s surge post-Hughes trade, focusing on things that have stood out, including Liam Ohgren’s play. Although the Canucks fell to the Flyers tonight, they had won four games in a row previously. Many had written them off, and the team appeared dead in the water, without their franchise star, no less. With all the rumors out of the way, and three young but immediate contributors coming over, it has brought fresh air to the group. Ohgren, a former first round pick, appeared to be more of a “throw in” that might end up in the AHL to try and find his game. The 21-year-old had no points in 18 games with the Wild. Instead, Ohgren has turned the page as a Canuck, with three points in five games, enough to be an instant middle-six contributor with untapped potential.
Kings Place Darcy Kuemper On Injured Reserve
The Kings announced they’ve placed starting goalie Darcy Kuemper on injured reserve. Pheonix Copley was recalled from the AHL’s Ontario Reign to take his place on the active roster.
Kuemper left last night’s 4-1 loss to the Stars late in the first period after taking head contact from Dallas winger Mikko Rantanen, who was attempting to cut across the top of the crease between Kuemper and L.A. defender Brian Dumoulin. Dallas scored on the play, but the goal was waved off as the puck deflected in from behind the net off an already-injured Kuemper, who was lying facedown in the crease holding his head.
The 35-year-old Kuemper stopped all five shots he faced before leaving the contest, bumping his SV% up to .917 on the year. That’s a few points south of the .921 mark that earned him his first career Vezina Trophy nomination last year, but the 2022 Stanley Cup champion continues to perform at a top-10 level as he resurrects his career in Hollywood. Behind his 10-6-6 record in 23 starts, his 16.0 goals saved above expected are fifth in the NHL, according to MoneyPuck. That’s the highest mark among Pacific Division netminders.
His backup, free-agent pickup Anton Forsberg, has been less inspiring. Through his first 10 appearances as a King, he’s put together a 4-3-3 record with a .893 SV% and 2.82 GAA. That’s still good for 1.1 goals above expected, receiving a slightly more demanding workload than Kuemper has, but a significant dropoff – particularly if Kuemper is set to miss more than the two games he’s been ruled out of, thanks to the IR placement. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement on Dec. 22 against the Blue Jackets.
Copley, 33, hasn’t seen NHL ice yet this season. The Alaska native is in his fourth season in the Kings organization, outside of a 13-day stay on the Lightning roster in October after being lost on waivers before being traded back to L.A. for future considerations. He successfully passed through waivers a second time after being reacquired but has struggled in the AHL, logging a .885 SV% and 3.13 GAA in 13 appearances for Ontario.
Nonetheless, few third-string options have more NHL experience than Copley. The Michigan Tech alum made his NHL debut with the Blues back in 2015-16 and has since gone on to record a 44-16-8 record, .898 SV%, 2.84 GAA, and three shutouts in 77 games.
West Notes: Kuemper, Danault, Byfield, Reichel, Connelly
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury in the first period of their game tonight against Dallas, the team announced (Twitter link). The injury occurred after taking a hit from Mikko Rantanen. The 35-year-old has quietly been one of the better goalies in the league this season, taking a 2.21 GAA and a .916 SV% in 22 games into this game while posting a 15.5 Goals Saved Above Expected, per MoneyPuck, good for fifth in the league. That performance could get him on the Olympic radar with Canada set to reveal its roster for the tournament at the end of the month. Anton Forsberg took over between the pipes following Kuemper’s injury.
More from out West:
- Still with Los Angeles, the Kings were without a pair of middlemen tonight as Jared Shafran of LA Kings Insider relayed that Philipp Danault and Quinton Byfield were both sidelined due to the flu. It’s the second straight game that Danault has missed; the 32-year-old is still looking for his first goal of the year and only has five assists through 30 games. Meanwhile, Byfield has just four goals in 31 outings but with 15 assists, he has enough points to sit third on the team in scoring.
- After clearing waivers over the weekend, the Canucks assigned winger Lukas Reichel to the minors. Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province mentions that Reichel’s agent has permission to talk to other teams about trying to facilitate a trade. While there were no takers for the 23-year-old with his $1.2MM AAV, it’s possible that there could be some interest if they could send a player the other way to offset some of the money. Either way, Reichel’s stock has certainly fallen after struggling following a late-October trade from Chicago.
- The Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate in Henderson announced Sunday that they have officially loaned winger Trevor Connelly to Team USA for the upcoming World Junior tournament. The 19-year-old was the 19th pick in 2024 and is holding his own in his first professional season, notching three goals and four assists in 11 outings so far.
Kings Return Erik Portillo From Emergency Recall
4:00 p.m.: Already in contention for the shortest emergency recall of the year, the Kings announced they’ve loaned Portillo back to AHL Ontario after reacquiring Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
1:04 p.m.: The Kings announced they’ve recalled goalie Erik Portillo from AHL Ontario under emergency conditions. As he’s an emergency call-up, the Kings don’t have to open a roster spot for him – although they wouldn’t have had to anyway with an existing opening.
L.A.’s next game is tomorrow against the Penguins. Neither of their two rostered goalies, Anton Forsberg or Darcy Kuemper, is carrying an injury designation. That’s likely to change in the next 24 hours, even if it’s just downgrading one of them to questionable. Kuemper is going to be absent from today’s practice, according to the team’s Zach Dooley.
Kuemper has shouldered the bulk of starts thus far, as expected, getting three of their four games. While the veteran had a resurgent 2024-25 campaign that made him a Vezina Trophy finalist for the first time, he hasn’t kept up that momentum through the first several days of 2025-26. He’s yet to hit a .900 SV% in a single outing and has a .868 SV% and 3.35 GAA through his three starts, recording a 0-2-1 record. His -2.0 goals saved above expected are 50th out of 57 goalies to suit up so far this year, according to MoneyPuck. Forsberg, signed to a two-year, $4.5MM deal in free agency last summer to replace David Rittich as Kuemper’s backup, hasn’t been any better. He allowed five goals on 35 shots in his lone start last week against the Golden Knights, although it resulted in L.A.’s only win of the season – a 6-5 shootout victory.
Meanwhile, Portillo could now be in line to at least dress for a game. The 25-year-old Swede is the Kings’ unchallenged No. 3 for the moment, particularly after losing Pheonix Copley on waivers to the Lightning a couple of weeks ago. The former University of Michigan standout made his first NHL start early last season, only allowing one goal on 29 shots (.966 SV%) for a 2-1 win over the Ducks.
Unfortunately, his recent minor-league body of work hasn’t been nearly as impressive. After recording a .918 SV% in 39 appearances as a rookie for Ontario in 2023-24, he sputtered to the tune of a .889 mark with a 2.82 GAA and 15-5-4 record in 24 appearances last year. In two showings for the Reign in 2025-26, he has a 3.50 GAA, .854 SV%, and a 1-0-1 record.
He’ll be eligible to play in up to nine games before the Kings must return him to Ontario or convert his recall into a standard one. They’re hoping they aren’t faced with that choice and can return him hastily.
Los Angeles Kings Acquire Pheonix Copley
The Los Angeles Kings have brought in a familiar face to serve as the team’s third-string netminder. After losing him on the waiver wire a few weeks ago, the Kings announced they’ve traded for netminder Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations.
Further, despite recalling him on an emergency basis only a few hours ago, the Kings also shared that they’ve loaned Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Assuming he can make it to Los Angeles before tomorrow night, Copley is expected to serve as the Kings’ backup tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins behind Anton Forsberg.
The reasoning behind the trade is simple. The team’s Editorial Content Manager, Zach Dooley, reported earlier that Darcy Kuemper and Anže Kopitar are dealing with lower-body injuries. While Kopitar has been deemed ‘questionable’, Kuemper has already been ruled out for tomorrow night’s contest.
Copley’s status as a veteran and familiarity with the organization likely played a big part in the Kings reacquiring him from the Lightning. Over the last three years, starting as a backup and transitioning to a third-string role, Copley had managed a 28-7-5 record for Los Angeles with a .897 SV% and 2.75 GAA. While playing for AHL Ontario last season, the 33-year-old netminder appeared in 42 contests, earning a 24-17-1 record with a .904 SV% and 2.49 GAA.
Although he was rostered on the Lightning to start the year, he had yet to appear in a game for them. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gotten off to a disappointing start to the campaign, but the team relied on Jonas Johansson as the next man up instead.
Connor Hellebuyck, Darcy Kuemper, Andrei Vasilevskiy Named Vezina Trophy Finalists
Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets, Darcy Kuemper of the Kings, and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning have been selected as the NHL’s Vezina Trophy finalists as the league’s top goaltender for the 2024-25 season, the league announced today (X link).
Hellebuyck backstopped a Jets roster that faced some question marks at the beginning of the season to the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy, posting a league-best 47-12-3 record in his 62 starts and one relief appearance. It’s Hellebuyck’s third consecutive Vezina nomination, and it comes in conjunction with his second straight Jennings Trophy for tending the goal of the league’s stingiest defensive team on the whole.
Playoff performance so far notwithstanding, Hellebuyck’s regular-season numbers have him as the clear favorite to win the Vezina for the second year in a row and the third time in his career. That’s certainly a long way off from Jacques Plante‘s record of seven, but he could be the first one to join the three-time club since Martin Brodeur won his third of four in 2007.
Hellebuyck led the league in goals against average (2.00), shutouts (eight), and goals saved above expected (39.6, per MoneyPuck). That’s the best figure a goalie has posted in a season since Juuse Saros posted a remarkable 46.7 GSAx in the 2022-23 campaign. Hellebuyck’s .925 SV% also ranks second among goalies who played 25 or more games, just one tick behind the Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz. He’s not a finalist, but he will almost certainly be in the top 10 when the voting results are announced next month.
Vasilevskiy will likely finish as Hellebuyck’s runner-up. The Big Cat had a resurgent 2024-25 campaign after an unusually pedestrian showing in 2023-24, logging a .921 SV%, 2.18 GAA, six shutouts, and a 38-20-5 record in a league-high 63 starts. That .921 mark was Vasilevsky’s highest in four years, and the now five-time finalist also finished second in the league behind Hellebuyck with 29.2 goals saved above expected. That’s also a career-high for the 30-year-old.
Kuemper, 34, also exploded for a bounce-back season. After struggling over the first two seasons of the five-year, $26.25MM pact he signed with the Capitals in free agency following his Stanley Cup win with the Avalanche in 2022, Washington traded him to the Kings in a swap of anchor contracts for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Now a clear win-win deal, Kuemper posted a 31-11-7 record in 50 starts for L.A. and posted a .921 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and five shutouts for his best numbers since his Cup-winning campaign. He’s a Vezina finalist for the first time in his 13-year career after finishing fifth and seventh in voting in 2019 and 2020, respectively, while a member of the Coyotes.
Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.
Los Angeles Makes Several Roster Moves
The Los Angeles Kings will have a different lineup tonight when they take on the Dallas Stars. The Kings organization announced they’ve activated netminder Darcy Kuemper from the team’s injured reserve, placed veteran forward Trevor Lewis on the injured reserve, and loaned goaltender Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
It was a relatively long hiatus for Kuemper on Los Angeles’ injured reserve. This was the second time this season that Kuemper landed on injured reserve, the first being from October 14 to October 26. This most recent stretch cost Kuemper seven consecutive games with backup netminder David Rittich being handed the starting role. The veteran netminder has managed a 4-2-3 record in 10 starts for the Kings this season though many of his starting goaltender peers have already recorded 20 or more starts.
Given the organization’s proximity to the salary cap ceiling and without a real need to keep three goaltenders on the roster, it was always likely Portillo would head back to Ontario, CA. He still made his NHL debut on November 29th against the Anaheim Ducks, picking up his first win in a near-flawless effort. Still, he’ll find more consistent playing time with the Reign this year where he’s already managed a 4-2-0 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average.
Similarly to Kuemper, Lewis’ time on the Kings’ injured reserve won’t be brief. The lower-body injury is expected to shelf the veteran forward for the next four to six weeks which will prohibit him from playing in his 1,000th career game for a month or more.
Los Angeles has sufficient forward depth to replace Lewis down the middle on the fourth line. The team will likely deploy prospect Samuel Helenius there for the time being but could like to give those minutes to Arthur Kaliyev once he’s activated from the injured reserve himself.